Well let's see what evidence they have. IF Zimmerman was biased and shot Travon with little provocation then the 2nd degree murder will stick and justice will be served. In that case, Sharpton was right and should be commended. IF Travon attacked Zimmerman (not realizing he was armed) then maybe Zimmerman was justified. I question Zimmerman had to kill Travon to resolve the situation unless it can be proven Travon went bezerk! You can't threaten the kid, hold him at gunpoint until police arrive, or wound him ? Killing seems extreme unless there was an uncontrolled altercation. BUT we're all guessing, without ALL the FACTS.

Apparently the DA had good cause to go for 2nd degree murder. On Chris Matthews show at 5 PM EST, a DA from another Co. went down the list of possible charges (while they were waiting for the Press conf) and there were about 5-6 potential charges they could make- 2nd degree murder was the worst. SO to arrest and make that serious charge, they must have some strong evidence. They could have gone for voluntary manslaughter, assault & battery, assault.. and 1 or 2 more lesser charges.

I will say I do NOT like the "stand your ground" law as it is currently written. How can you pursue someone (stalk, continue when advised NOT to, then confront them, and then claim stand your ground? Your "ground" was moving and YOU were the pursuer ! It might be different if you were the pursued.

Learned this: Everyone has the right of "self defense" which is essentially "stand your ground" on your own property. The "stand your ground" Law allows you to apply that principle anywhere you can legally be (in public). Sounds good, except when you allow someone to stalk someone else and then decide they're bad with no evidence and then take their life. I don't want self righteous vigilantes running around with guns making those decisions - THAT"S what the Police and the courts are for !!

Hell you could have some jerk picking fights, shooting someone, and then claim "stand your ground" !?? HTF do you separate the good & justified from the abused situations ??

While the SYG rule may need clearer definitions....I like the fact that I am allowed to defend myself to the death if necessary.I believe it is a huge deterrent to a lot of crime, if someone knows I may just be packing a gun and will use it.

Maybe one tweak would be to say the SYG Law does NOT apply if you pursue the person that's killed - i.e. you can go the other way and avoid the situation. Your life was NOT in imminent danger if you can escape (esp. from someone unarmed).

I DO understand if you're out in public and someone assaults you, you pull heat and they don't back away and you kill them - then that IS justified. But if you pull a gun and they run and you then chase them down and shoot them - then that's NOT appropriate. Sure they're bad azzes that deserve prosecution & time, but most citizens are NOT well-trained enough with fire arms and you could kill a bystander with your reckless behavior. ID the fokker, and let the Police do their work.

For the Record : I'm not against people who serve as Neighborhood Watch, but I don't want them carrying guns and trying to play cop thinking they're John Wayne ! That puts people in as much danger as the thugs do ! If I wanted Dodge City, I'd invent a Time machine !

While the SYG rule may need clearer definitions....I like the fact that I am allowed to defend myself to the death if necessary.I believe it is a huge deterrent to a lot of crime, if someone knows I may just be packing a gun and will use it.

For the record....I don't even own a gun.

I don't own a gun, either. The current FL law needs to be better defined. They need to remove the immunity from arrest and prosecution when self-defense is invoked.

I may be the only one who watched the assigned prosecutor's news speech , but she seemed to me to be doing "climate control". She was very quick to defend the investigation and court system. Although I couldn't hear the questions thrown at her so they may have riled up her defenses in that regard.

I would not be surprised if he was acquitted .

I have a hard time believing that this was racially motivated understanding that a man who has mentored African-Americans would intentionally hunt out an African-American and shoot him down.

I still have not heard much of this so called gated community. Is there a gate one has to open to come into the area? Is there a gate keeper there admitting folks? Is the convenience store, Martin was at, inside the area or outside. What is the racial makeup of this community? Martin was African-American. Was his dads girl friend Afrcan-American? How many burguries have occurred before this?

A friend ask me why was this guy carrying a gun. I said that he dd so for protection. My friend should know as his girlfriend just got her CC permit in Kansas.

So many questions.

Dave

_________________________
If we don't count our blessings We are just wasting our time

Does wearing a hoodie make one automatically look conspicious after dark? Or is it the combination of a darker complexion and a hoodie, that does that? Heck, I'm 35 and still wear hoodies most of the time, so not usually with the hood over my head, and I'm white, but still. And knowing something about the American society, everything has to do with race and racism there eventually, it's the history dictating that, IMO. And this case obviously needed to go to court for justice, regardless of a SYG law in place or not.

I just read this WP article, and I don't know how much of it is media trying to portray him as such, the shooter appears to be a scared neighborhood watch type fantasizing of being a cop.

And what was he protecting himself from while carrying a gun? Angry criminals confronting him while immersed in his neighborhood watch duty?

So, if he decided to follow the kid himself after calling 911, why would he do that? I mean, if you're seventeen, after dark, minding your own going to the store and an adult male starts following you, you are most likely to become at least a little concerned of your well-being. Actually, regardless of your age and sex, if someone starts following you after dark, you get at least a little concerned.

And, finally, I think this thread needs other opinions as well. Just a little too white (and middle-class) at the moment...

Dead wrong on point three. Sharpton & Co. did for this case and the broader issue of Stand Your Ground what Schultz & Co. did for the people of Wisconsin. Huge injustices would have remained under the national radar and done ugly X 100 to people who deserve better.

Well Dave, I'm trying not to rush to judggement- I could see it going either way depending on the facts. Meister has some good points. Everyone is focused on what was in Zimmerman's mind and forget what could be going through a kid's mind with someone stalking him. Zimmerman does not know Travon's motives and Travon does not know Zimmerman's motives... I mean neighborhood watch groups don't wear uniforms (like police) or have identifiable badges etc... Travon could have thought him a preverted psycho. Maybe they should wear caps that say "Neighborhood Watch" or something. All events started off innocent but blew into a tragedy because force was engaged. That needs to be applied judiciously and not callously or with wreckless regard like the current SYG Law allows. The law needs to be revoked or seriously tweaked and clear definitions made of when it's applicable. Right now the doors are wide open for abiuse.

Here's another problem with aggressive watch people like Zimmerman. What if a perfect stranger confronted you about your personal business, wouldn't you feel offended??

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